Outcasts of the Academy
by PurpleLuna98
Summary: Julia Beilschmidt was a normal girl that got accepted into the most prestigious line of high schools in the world. Now, she's trying to find a friend but is having a hard time, what with her neglected, rebellious roommate, a Brit that always seems to be off his fix, a jock that's too happy to be clean, and a Frenchie who has bipolar depression, she doesn't know if she can find one.


**General Disclaimer for entire story: I don't own Hetalia, or any of the products mentioned in the fic. Examples could be Apple products, restaurants, fast food chains, sports teams, _anything_.**

%~%~%~%

Utterly bored after making sure to study for her end-of-semester exams for her eighth grade year, Julia sighed and rolled over on her family's white couch. She lazily glanced out the giant windows in her home. Thanks to her father, Folkert, owning giant companies in Germany from investment, the Beilschmidt family owned a mansion in the States. The estate had been left to Julia for the week, however, and she had milked all of its pleasures before her brother and father had returned.

Breaking Julia out of her boredom, a happy German Sheppard jumped up onto the couch and playfully licked her face. Laughing and closing her blue and pink eyes to avoid them being licked as well, Julia pushed the giant dog off of the lush couch. "Okay girl, okay! Do you want to do something with Aster and Berlitz?"

As if the mutinous dogs had planned it from the beginning, the Golden Retriever and Dachshund appeared by the Sheppard's side, Berlitz holding their three leashes in his muzzle. Sighing, Julia crossed her arms, but stood up nonetheless.

"Fine, I'll walk you three _hunde_ once I get dressed, okay? Don't give me that look, Aster, I won't fall for your damn eyes again," Julia said a bit too cheerily to the Dachshund, whose puppy face fell from his face with a droop of ears.

Julia ignored the three dogs and walked up the stairs to her room, even as they padded after her with their claws clicking against the shined hardwood floors. Once in her room, Julia quickly changed out of her giant, oversized tee-shirt and slipped on a bra, tank top, and shorts. She quickly laced up her tennis shoes after putting on her socks, and tied her white hair up into ponytail. Finally, after what seemed like forever to the three overgrown puppies laying on her bed, Julia turned and held up their leashes. "Who's ready for a good run?"

%~%~%~%

Barking, Berlitz, Aster, Blackie pulled their master, Julia, down the street. Said girl could barely hang on for her life as the strong (and normally well behaved) dogs pulled her along to their house. Seeing what the three dogs saw down the street, Julia let go of the three and ran to her younger brother, whom didn't seem at all surprised to be tackled by the three family pets.

"Oof!" Ludwig said on his way down to the ground, Aster having jumped higher than the other two dogs and therefore had gotten his master sufficiently pinned. Blackie and Berlitz soon joined the youngest dog in licking the young teen's face.

Panting, Julia finally managed to catch up to her dogs. "I see the dogs...managed to catch up with you..." She said, retying her long white hair back in her ponytail. Hopefully, having only been out in the sun for an hour or two without sunscreen, she wouldn't have too bad of a burn.

"_Ja_, I guess they have...So, how have you been doing here?" The question was an awkward one. Julia had been left alone for three days to tend to the house and the dogs while Ludwig and their father had gone out-of-state to go to their uncle's funeral. Julia, whom had loved her Uncle Fritz as much as one could love an unruly uncle that their father never let them see, was devastated to hear about how Fritz had died in a brutal mugging. She was even more devastated when she discovered that she simply could not attend his funeral because of her exams to get into the best high school in America and possibly the world, World Academy.

Luckily, Julia had a pretty good time by herself. Her mood dampened, however, when she remembered the loss of Fritz. "It was kinda unawesome, but what can you do, y'know?"

Ludwig frowned. "You know _Vati_ and I would not have left you behind had the exams been this week instead of last."

Julia sighed, and attempted to put on a façade of her normal self to ease her brother's guilt—after all, that's what older siblings did! It ultimately failed, however, and Julia abandoned it in favor of rolling her eyes.

"I doubt it. _Vati_ probably would have kept me home and away from old Fritz_, yet again_." Julia said harshly, grabbing a couple of bags off of the dirty driveway leading to their home. Ludwig watched with surprise and worry as his sister walked off without her usual air of arrogance.

Something had changed in his sister in the past month, but Ludwig simply could not figure it out for the life of him. Sighing and deciding to inquire about the strange act later, Ludwig grabbed the rest of his bags, closed the truck's trunk, and whistled to his dogs. The three came at their master's whistle, abandoning playing with a child in the street. As his dogs ran happily in front of him, Ludwig walked towards his home, feeling more conflicted about life ahead then than at any other time before.

%~%~%~%

Julia smiled and placed the framed photo of her uncle up on the top of her black bureau, right in between the picture of her mother and the family portrait that her, Ludwig, and her _vati_ had had done a couple of years ago.

The picture of her mother was a taken a couple of years before Ludwig was born, and she was holding her first-born, giving the camera a cheerful smile. The picture of Fritz was taken about ten years ago on January 18, when Julia had just turned four. The silly old man had the young girl in a protective headlock, and was smiling cheekily at the camera, while the mini-Julia looked like she was attempting to be grumpy, but was utterly failing at it. The family portrait was taken right after Ludwig had graduated fourth grade, which was two years ago in about a month. He looked like the geeky kid he was back then, the glasses he had previously needed perched on his nose and a little crooked. He was wrapped under Julia's arm, her wearing the middle school's uniform, since she had been in sixth grade that year. Her and Ludwig's father, an intimidating man with long blond hair and startling blue eyes, had a hand on either of his children's shoulders and was smiling softly at the camera while his children beamed.

Somehow, looking back at those moments that were long forgotten made Julia's life feel less oppressing, less like she had to live up to her father's expectations. Smiling a soft smile, Julia stepped away from her beautifully carved bureau (the Prussian eagle carved into the side by Fritz himself), and flopped onto her bed. Her bed was only a full, but it still felt huge to her. The bed was covered with grey sheets, and the blanket topping it off had music lines with notes, placed at an angle, running the length of it. The five pillows at the crown of the bed, all upright and leaning against the wooden headboard, somehow made Julia feel like royalty, what with having unnecessary things, and all. Other than the bed and the bureau, Julia's room consisted of a small wood desk, overflowing with last-minute study opportunities, the door to her closet, and a full-length mirror that her father had given her for her gift on her tenth birthday.

Sighing and looking over the familiar room yet again, Julia was suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling of helplessness. She couldn't do this—she couldn't leave her life behind to chase her mother's dreams of her daughter going to World Academy! How was Julia supposed to live up to that?! Julia had never had many friends, and was usually extremely nervous around people, so how was she supposed to adjust to _living_ with people she'd never met before?

Breaking Julia out of her small panic attack, Folkert walked into the room. The father immediately assessed the situation, but said nothing as his daughter's face wiped itself clean of its panic and turned to one of arrogance and fake annoyance.

"What do you want? I'm studying." She said harshly. Folkert sighed, but grabbed the chair from Julia's desk and sat down, leaning forward and bracing his elbows on his slacks.

"Julia, we need to talk about World Academy sometime, you know. Your mother would want you to do this." He started, but was interrupted by Julia sitting up roughly and rolling her eyes. Folkert noted that she wore torn jeans and a tee-shirt of a band he did not recognize instead of the school uniform she had been wearing.

"Here we go again, trying to pressure me to do whatever the hell you want. Look, _Vati_, I know I have to go, okay? I'm getting to that point where I'll accept it. Let me have my time to adjust! For someone who doesn't show his emotions, you always feel the need to impose on mine, huh?" Julia said harshly, crossing her arms and legs simultaneously.

Folkert frowned at what his daughter had so bluntly said. "Excuse me?"

Julia paused her moping and raised her pale eyebrows. To say the least, she looked shocked. "Have you really not realized?" Her expression turned sour almost instantly. "You never seem to take my opinions into account when you're making decisions that include Ludwig or me!"

Folkert sighed, but rubbed a hand over his face. Truthfully, the man just wanted to get his daughter's opinion on courses, not to discuss his less-than-stellar choices about his children. "Dear, can we please talk about this later? After the funeral, I just don't feel up to arguing with you right now."

Sensing the tension in his voice, Julia's mood shifted to concern and she immediately looked apologetic. "Sorry, _Vati_, I guess I'm just a little overwhelmed again. I mean, I haven't exactly got the kind of experience one needs to be comfortable with going to a private boarding school, y'know? Finals aren't exactly making matters easier…"

"Speaking of finals, do you have any idea of how you did on them? We haven't gotten the letter from the Academy yet, but I went online and looked at the classes for incoming ninth graders on the flight back from the funeral. I wanted to get your opinion on your courses."

"I think I did okay…a couple questions stumped me, though, which worries me…Do you think I'll still get in?" Julia question was uttered in a whisper, and her arms wrapped more tightly together. Folkert smiled softly, but stood and placed a reassuring hand on his daughter's slim shoulder.

"Don't fret, _geliebt_, I would bet a million that you scored at least near-perfect, and will certainly get in! Now, shall we move to the computer to choose your courses?"

Julia smiled shyly, wiping tears that had formed in her eyes away. She would do this, and even her father, whom normally was so distant and harsh to her, believed so. Who knew? Maybe she _would_ get a perfect score on the entrance exam!

%~%~%~%

Ludwig, when he came home from school the next day, was not expecting to be tackled to the ground when he entered his home. He was startled, to say the least, when he noticed that it was his sister squealing like a madwoman on top of him, and not one of the three family dogs. Rubbing his head and closing the thick door he had opened, Ludwig looked quizzically at his sister, whom was uncharacteristically bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.

"Did something good happen today at school?" Ludwig asked, wanting only to sneak up to his room and do his homework. Fate would have none of his pleading, however, and his sister let out another girly squeal, bouncing even harder.

"_Oh mein Gott, ja!_ I simply couldn't believe it at all! _Vati_ wasn't out there when you walked up the driveway, right? Oh, he better get home soon. He'll be so happy~!" His sister blurted in one breath, running over to the window next to the door that was hidden by curtains. She glanced out it again, and seemed to not find their father's black Mercedes in the driveway.

Ludwig, meanwhile, had walked into the kitchen to find a light snack, having not been able to get up to his room with his over-excited sister blocking the hallway that led to the stairs. He hadn't looked in the fridge for even a minute before there was the telltale sound of a car door slamming, and another excited squeal from the entrance hall. Sighing, Ludwig prayed for his father to have good patience and returned to his task, determined to have a snack to tide him over while he completed his homework before dinnertime.

In the entrance hall, Folkert had just walked in on a bouncing daughter, much the same way that his youngest son had before him. The only difference between the two was that the taller German was not thrown to the tiled ground with his daughter's weight, but did indeed stumble a bit and was more than fairly surprised, as Ludwig had been.

"_Vati, Vati!_ It came, it came! It came so much earlier than we expected it to!" Julia cried, wanting to run circles around her father but managed to keep at least some control over her excitement. She couldn't for long, however, and started to bounce on her feet again. "I haven't opened it yet because I wanted to wait until you got home so then we could open it together, maybe even with Ludwig so it could be a family thing, but you weren't home like you usually are! So I waited, and I accidentally tackled Ludwig on the way in because I thought he was you but he wasn't…yeah, I should apologize for that…But now you're home and we can open it and see if I got in!" Julia said excitedly, only taking a breath once.

Folkert raised his eyebrows, but absorbed his daughter's quick words, and then seemed to comprehend them. He smiled shortly, and walked in the direction of the kitchen, nodding his head in his own special way that told Julia to follow him. She did so, still nearly bouncing of the walls in anticipation. Upon entering the kitchen, Folkert found two of the three family dogs intently watching his son eat a wurst while said son was scribbling something onto a piece of paper.

Ludwig looked up when his father sat down at the island/bar in the middle of the kitchen with him, as well as Julia. Julia passed her father the sealed envelope from World Academy, and Ludwig put down his pencil and swallowed the last of his light snack.

Folkert, not knowing what was ahead, looked at his daughter with a stern expression. "Now I have no idea what will be contained in this letter, Julia, but all we can hope for is the best. If our luck is rotten and they have not accepted you, do not let it get to you, okay?"

Julia nodded bravely, and Ludwig looked between the two nervously. He didn't quite get what was so important about this World Academy, but it obviously meant something to both his father and sister (and from what he'd heard, his mother and Fritz as well), so he hoped for the best. Folkert looked between his children, and then gently broke the wax seal on the prestigious envelope. He slowly opened the top paper inside and carefully read it, after putting his reading glasses on the end of his nose.

Not liking the anticipation one bit, Julia started to anxiously twirl her hair and then started to chew on the end of it. It was one of her worst habits that she'd unwillingly kept since her childhood, but try as she might to squash it, it still managed to worm its way into her thoughts in the most stressful situations. Returning her attention to her father, Julia's mind wondered to what would happen if she didn't get into the prestigious Academy. Would her father be proud if she held her head high and took it like a woman? Would he finally look at her like a real daughter and not some trophy to be won?

Folkert finally finished reading, and handed the paper to his daughter. Smiling, she read over the page-long letter addressed to her.

_To Julchen Maria Beilschmidt,_

_We, the teachers and staff at World Academy, would like to inform you and your parents/guardians, that you have officially been selected as one of the two hundred eighth graders from across the globe to attend World Academy, based on your academic scores. The academic scores that have placed you in our ranks were not solely derived from the Academy Exams you took this May. The scores of both your seventh and eighth grade end-of-term exams were taken from necessary classes (as in we excluded your extra-curricular courses) and acquired an average of that data. That is how we came about the score that has given you a scholarship to our World Academy—_

"_Mein Gott_, I got in…" Julia said slowly in disbelief, as if the clearly printed cursive in front of her eyes was an elaborate trick.

"You did, indeed. Keep reading, however." Folkert said knowingly, somehow sensing his daughter's surprise at getting in.

_—this following year._

_We would also like to inform you of your exam scores. They are in an attached folder that was included in the envelope you received. Your scores placed among the top five entrance exam scores at the Academy—ever, not just for this upcoming year of students. Two other students from your year also made it to the top five, and you scored higher than one of them and got fourth overall in the international entrance exam tally. Congratulations on your excellent achievement._

_Attached also in the accompanying envelope are your plane tickets—two for your flight from your home to where this year's Academy will be taking place, New York, and one for a flight back to your home. Before arriving, please make sure to log onto our website, with the login information provided on your exam scores sheet, and pick out the classes you wish to take this upcoming year. If you do not want to choose your classes, but instead want to let the faculty choose the courses that you must take by the end of your twelfth grade year, do send us a letter so that we may know._

_The Academy hopes to see your excited face before too long, Julchen. Have an excellent summer, and we'll see you in September (or August, depending on which tickets they give you)._

_From the Dean of the Academy, Roma Vargas_

"Wow, I can't believe it! _Vati_, can I see my scores?" Julia happily asked, giving the welcoming letter to her curious brother. Folkert smiled, but gave the scores he was looking over to his daughter anyway. Julia happily accepted them.

What she saw amazed her. Her math and science scores, which always seemed to be her worst out of the five core course scores, were actually above the average line, which was listed on the paper in a neat little graph. Her history was her best, as per usual, and was the closest of her five scores to getting a perfect score (she actually only missed one question, and it was a careless mistake). Her reading was excellent, as was her English score. Overall, they were the best overall scores on any exam she had ever taken.

"I can't believe this! It's simply too good to be true!" Julia cried, happily handing the scores back to her father.

"Congratulations, Julia! I can't believe you actually scored that well…" Ludwig smiled, though anyone with a pair of eyes could see he was jealous of his older sister.

Julia, however, didn't seem to notice, as she was too absorbed in the heat of the moment. "_Mein Gott_, I'm going to boarding school! The best in the country, maybe even the _world!_ What will it be like? You went to World Academy, didn't you, _Vati?_ What was it like? Did you like your roommate? Did you meet _Mutti_ while there? Wasn't it held in Germany your senior year? Do you ever—"

"Julia, I can't very well answer all your questions when you shoot them at me. Now, I will be more than happy to answer your questions, but you must ask them slowly. _Vertehen?_"

Julia nodded, but still barely contained her excitement as she repeated the questions only a bit slower. Folkert sighed. This would be a long three months.

%~%~%~%

Three months of moaning, boredom, an occasional movie, summer jobs which were sometimes ignored, and packing and repacking later, Julia was nervously laying under her replacement covers. Her actual bedspreads and blanket had been packed away in one of the three rolling travel bags lying at the foot of her bed. They were packed so that the next day, Julia and her father could drive straight to the airport and get onto the plane. The flight left at eleven, which meant that Julia and Folkert would be on the road no later than a quarter 'till eight the next morning.

Julia couldn't fall asleep knowing that fact. She was so excited and nervous, she felt like she should dance and puke at the same time. She rolled over and looked at the digital clock on her desk. 1:34. Six more hours until she needed to change and eat, and seven more until they left. Julia rolled over again, and faced the wall next to her bed. This was the last night she'd be sleeping in this bed, her bed. For the next two terms, she'd be sleeping in another bed in another room, with another person sleeping in the same room with the same conditions.

This train of thought led Julia to another one: what would her roommate be like? With all the thinking time she'd had over the summer, Julia had thought plenty on the subject. Would she be tall? Fat? Would she be anything like Julia? Would their personalities clash? Julia hoped that they'd at least become friends, since she didn't think she could room with a girl that hated her, or even disliked her.

With those thoughts on her mind, Julia finally managed to close her tired eyes, and her nervous brain shut off for the next six hours.

She woke up with her alarm clock obnoxiously blaring. Blearily, Julia cursed under her breath and trudged over to it, slamming the snooze button so hard that she winced at the noise. Yawning, she stretched her hands up above her head, and looked at herself in her mirror. Blinking, she realized that her hair needed to be brushed and her face washed, but nothing else was really all that necessary. So, with the ease of a gorilla walking through a china shop without breaking anything, Julia managed to drag her half-asleep body to the bathroom, and in front of the porcelain sink. She turned the water on, and splashed the annoying coldness on her face to wake her mind up. Then, she took a towel and some soap, turned the water to a nice, scalding hot, and proceeded to wash her face. It took all of a minute, and there were still a couple zits on her pale face, but Julia did seriously not care. With another yawn, she walked down to the kitchen to get herself some breakfast, still in her huge pajama shirt with little else on. She threw together a healthy meal of a pack of cinnamon Pop-Tarts and a banana, and quickly ate it. She was foraging for the milk carton in the 'fridge when Folkert made an appearance, still looking impeccable despite the plaid pajama bottoms he wore with no shirt.

Julia, having finally found the milk, lifted it up to her mouth to drink from it, but was halted with a watning noise from her father. Sulking, she lumbered over to the cabinet to find a glass and mumbled, "So not awesome."

Folkert rolled his eyes, but continued on with making himself some coffee and grabbed a donut from Ludwig's personal box. Julia raised an eyebrow in his direction, and he shrugged. "He won't notice just one donut going missing out of all the others still there."

Rolling her eyes with a small smirk on her face, Julia finished her milk and walked back up to her room, nearly tripping on a half-asleep Aster watching the stairs blearily. Julia chuckled. "He's not coming down for a while, boy. Unlike _Vati_ and me, he gets to sleep in." The dog ignored her, and continued to sleepily await his master.

Smiling slightly and rolling her eyes, Julia climbed the stairs and walked to her room. A couple of weeks ago, the staff at World Academy sent a uniform with a list of how the students could modify it so that "the student body's creativity can still be flowing through a controlled environment". Julia had always been against uniforms, and usually pushed her luck with most of them. So, Julia had decided that in her last hours of freedom of clothing, she would wear whatever the hell she wanted. So, she had gone out and gotten Fritz's old sailing coat (which had been given to her along with a large sum of cash through his will) fitted to her shoulders and upper body, dug out her white, lace-up boots that reached her upper thigh, and got a normal outfit. All in all, she had on tall white boots, a short black miniskirt that did little to hide anything, a white tank top, the long blue coat that fanned out from her hips to about three inches from her knees, and a white scarf.

She felt like a rebel, which made her feel…different. It was the perfect way to start off a new school year, and Julia felt invigorated by it. She happily combed her hair, and left it to fall down her shoulders in straight layers. She took two of her bags, one for each hand, and happily walked down the stairs and out the already-opened doors, where Folkert had changed and was waiting in his car. He looked up and frowned at what his daughter was wearing as she passed by him to put her bags in the backseat, however.

"Julia, what on Earth are you _wearing?_" He asked in exasperation. Julia smiled happily, and gave a little wave as she passed by him again to trot back into the house.

"It's a new start, _Vati_—that doesn't just mean with my school!" She said happily before reentering the mansion. Sighing, Folkert rubbed his temples to relieve the headache he knew was coming on. Sometimes, even he didn't get his own daughter.

Julia immerged back out of the house with her last and heaviest bag, and also a stuffed yellow chick. It was about the size of a beach ball, and had a cute little beak, two eyes, and a pink bow on the right side of its head. Julia had never gone a full two nights without cuddling and falling asleep with her childhood playtoy. Folkert thought it was cute, but simply irrational.

Julia, after making sure to secure her treasured fluffy friend in between two suitcases so that she could look out the front windshield if she so wished, jumped into the passenger seat and happily smiled to her father, whom had started up the expensive car.

"So I get to drive her next year, right?" She asked, just as she had for the past year. She was turning fifteen in January, and she was simply ecstatic over the fact that her father was willing to teach her to drive after she had received her permit.

"_Ja_, if you get your permit." Folkert responded, keeping his eyes on the road.

Julia smiled. "Does that mean I can come home early from the Academy to take the test?"

Folkert chuckled and turned onto the road that would lead them to the highway. "_Nein_. You are more airheaded than I thought if you seriously thought I would agree to that."

Julia rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'll be driving this awesome car before you know it, _Vati._"

Folkert didn't respond, instead preferring to focus on the increased speed around the car as they merged onto the highway. Julia sighed in boredom a minute later, and Folkert glanced over to his daughter before putting the car on cruise.

"Something wrong?" He asked, continuing to focus on the road.

Julia shifted in her seat. "Not really…It's just, I kinda have this nervous feeling that's making me anxious. I mean, what if I don't find any friends?"

Folkert frowned, but didn't comment. Julia just let the subject drop, glancing back out the window to watch the other cars that they were passing. She didn't question why her father suddenly got so distant in rare moments when they were talking, but it had happened more and more since Julia had accepted into World Academy. She figured it had something to do with his time at the Academy all those years ago.

%~%~%~%

The walk through the process of airport security, verifying the tickets, and out to the terminal was a long one, what with Folkert and Julia barely talking with each other. The flight was so much longer; thankfully, Julia was able to tide herself over with the cheap magazines and surfing the internet. After all, the people running the Academy and the Academy itself didn't advertise themselves as much as the rest of the world's top academies did. So, World Academy was a great place for celebrities or children of celebrities to hide from the world's eyes.

And Julia would be going to school with them.

She suddenly remembered something her brother had told her when she was still in shock over being accepted into the Academy_. Really, you shouldn't be so surprised_, he had said with a roll to his bright blue eyes, _You've always been able to sail through any class without picking up a textbook at all. You're like some kind of genius!_ Julia didn't think of herself like that, though. She could list at least ten kids at her old school that could do the same thing. It wasn't all that hard to remember things from all the classes she had, what with Julia not doing anything extracurricular at school besides occasionally letting old Fritz teach her to play a little flute (which she loved to learn).

Julia, pushing away the thoughts of her grades and her spiteful brother, opened another magazine. The first article was boring, about some famous actor that had cheated on his wife with his costar. She flipped the page, and was surprised to find a cute girl with dark skin plastered across the left page. Her article was on the right page, and Julia started to read it.

_Last week, the daughter of famous Spanish entrepreneur Antonio Carriedo was arrested for public disturbance. The young woman had nothing to comment on the subject, but her father seemed to be a little more willing to talk to us._

_"Hopefully, this won't be happening again," he told our reporters Wednesday evening, "I'm hoping that sending her to learn out of the reach of the paparazzi will influence her to make better decisions than what she had been."_

_When asked to explain his statement in more detail, he waved our reporters off, telling them that he had said enough without the consent of his lawyer and daughter. However, our reporters were able to figure out from an anonymous source that Isabel Carriedo will be attending World Academy, the most prestigious and secluded school in the world, for her musicality and athleticism. More information will be provided on Isabel if any should arise. We highl—_

Julia looked back at the picture of the girl. Her expression was bored, her green eyes dull and seeming to hate having to be captured in a picture. She had a few freckles splashed across her cheeks, and her curly brown hair seemed to be tied back in some sort of bun, with some strands having come undone and hanging around her face.

Julia layed back in her seat again. So, this was one of the child celebrities that was going to attend World Academy. Interesting. Would Julia meet this "Isabel"? She probably wouldn't, if Isabel had gotten into the Academy through the arts and sports.

Then, Julia had a crazy thought. Could Isabel possibly be willing to be friends with her? Julia shook her head of the silly idea. After all, what celebrity would want to spend time with someone as common as her?

%~%~%~%

The plane finally landed in New York as the sun was kissing the edge of the horizon. Folkert and Julia, after exiting the plane and locating the sign for it, made their way through the crowds to baggage claim. When she saw her bags, Julia pointed them out and Folkert helped her gather them. After some haggling (mostly just Julia saying she could carry more than just one suitcase) and a couple wayward looks, Folkert was carrying two suitcases, and Julia had another one with both of their carry-ons. They walked out to the front of the airport, and then Julia spoke up. "So…how are we getting there?"

"I called a taxi beforehand. He's right over there, don't complain." Folkert added just as Julia had opened her mouth to do exactly that. She frowned, but continued to follow her father to one of the many waiting cabs.

Leaning against one of the cabs was a tall man with curly blond hair with red streaks in it. He was smoking, and when he noticed the duo approaching his cab, he smiled and stood up properly.

"Hello, the Beilschmidts, I assume?" He asked in a heavy accent that sounded like it came from Boston. It had a distinct difference, though, so Julia assumed it was from New York.

"_Ja._ You are our cab driver?" Folkert asked unnecessarily. The man, not commenting on this fact, just smiled like he was an old friend.

"That's me. Lance Jones, but you two can call me Hunter. I'll be your driver to the school, and for you to return here for your flight back, Mr. Beilschmidt." Hunter said, then he crushed his cigarette and smiled warmly at Julia's father, "You need help with your bags?"

"_Nein_, but thanks." Folkert said, already heading to the trunk of the taxi. Julia followed him, and after they had loaded her bags into the back of the car, they sat in the back of the taxi as their driver loaded himself into the driver's seat.

Hunter pulled out of the airport loading strip, and was on the road in minutes. Julia smiled out of the window, watching the lights of the city near the horizon start to come on. It was both a beautiful and disturbing sight, since the sun still had a good hour or two before its light was completely gone from the state. Folkert glanced over to his daughter.

"Still nervous?" He asked gently, as if hesitant to bring the subject up.

"No, not that much anymore. I still am about making friends and who my roommate will be, but it's not as bad as before." Julia said truthfully.

Folkert nodded, then turned from his daughter to the front of the taxi. "How long until we arrive?"

Hunter glanced back, and then seemed to calculate something in his head. "Depending on the traffic around the school, and then the traffic leading up to it, it could be anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour."

Julia's eyes nearly bulged out of her head. "That big of a difference? I thought the school was supposed to be secluded!"

Hunter smiled lightly. "Yeah, you're right about that part. It's out in the middle of the state, only a short drive from the airport and the nearest town, which is a pretty small one. But on the days where all the kids are arriving at the school, the paps crowd the outskirts of the school to get some glimpses of the students," and as if reading Jullia's mind, he continued and answered her unasked question, "They crowd the outskirts because if they went onto the property of World Academy then the school officials can arrest them."

"So let me get this straight. People will be waiting before the gates of the school to take pictures of the famous students coming there?" Folkert asked, confused.

"You'd be surprised what the paps would do to get anything on these people." Lance responded, taking a turn down a road. "I'm just happy we haven't run into any crazies yet. See that bush over there? Yeah, that's a hidden van."

Julia's eyes widened and looked at the "bush" Hunter had pointed out. Indeed, it was distinctly van-shaped, but Julia had to admit that she would not have seen it had the experienced taxi driver not pointed it out.

"You seem really experienced with the paparazzi." Folkert commented casually.

"Yeah, I'm pretty experienced with them, to be honest—Oh, we're here."

And they were. Huge, elegant wrought-iron fences stretched across a huge property. There were dozens of guards every couple of feet, each having a gun and wearing intimidating gear with sunglasses. Past the gates and more down the road, there was a giant brick building that looked like a prison or something. Hunter stopped at the checkpoint before the gates and smiled at the guard manning the checkpoint, whom was holding a clipboard. The stern-looking man just rolled his eyes.

"Who've you got in the back, Jones?" The man asked, glancing over his sunglasses to the back. Julia waved nicely.

"Beilschmidt, Julchen, and her father." Folkert said to the man, getting him to look away from his daughter. To be honest, both Folkert and Julia had forgotten about her weird attire, but the man had noticed straight away.

The guard shuffled through his paper, stopping on the third page. "Oh, yes, I see you now. Go on in. Happy term." And when he waved his hand after saying that, the iron gates opened and allowed the taxi to drive on through.

Hunter eased through the gates, and drove slowly down the road, past the multiple trees and orchards and perfectly trimmed lawns, and towards the building. Julia took it all in with eager eyes.

Finally, after what seemed like a small eternity, Hunter pulled in front of the school's grand doors. Leading up to the Academy's enormous wooden door set, there was a marble staircase that was about thirty or so steps, and led up from where the taxi had halted with other cars. Hunter turned back and smiled at the duo that was awed by the scene.

"Welcome to New York's branch of the World Academy, Mr. and Miss. Beilschmidt."

%~%~%~%

**Author's Note: Hey guys! So welcome to my new story, _Outcasts of the Academy_! I am so attached to this idea right now, I can't even fathom it; I don't even have any idea why it's such an interesting prospect for me to write! It just popped up while I was writing a research paper for school, and _BAM! _I can't do anything without thinking about this idea. I'm kind of not really all that excited about writing a HighSchool!AU fic, because there are _so_ many out there, and I don't want to fall into the stereotype of other high school fics. So, tell me what y'all think could make it unique! Ideas always help—trust me.**

**The next chapter should hopefully be up pretty soon, so look for that. Thanks for reading, and remember to _review!_**

**~Luna**


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